Massachusetts Mobile Home Park Laws

Massachusetts Mobile Home Park Laws — Lot Rent and Evictions (2026)

By Oleg Kachko · Updated August 22, 2026

✓ Law Verified August 2026

Massachusetts mobile home park laws are their own world: you own the home, you rent the ground, and a separate set of rules, different from ordinary landlord-tenant law, decides what the park can charge, when it can evict, and what happens if the land is sold out from under the whole community. This guide covers those rules in plain English, verified against official Massachusetts sources as of August 2026.

Massachusetts Mobile Home Park Laws at a Glance

The law that governs parks The Manufactured Housing Act, M.G.L. c. 140, §§ 32A–32S, enforced through the Attorney General’s Manufactured Housing Community Regulations, 940 CMR 10.00
Notice before a lot rent increase 30 days. Under M.G.L. c. 140, § 32L the community must give each resident written notice of a rent increase at least 30 days before it takes effect, and under 940 CMR 10.03 the increase itself must be permitted by a rule that was disclosed and is not unfair or unreasonable. If you live in a city or town with a mobile home rent control board, the board’s own notice and petition procedure also applies and may require more.
Cap on lot rent increases NO CAP statewide. Massachusetts has no statewide percentage cap on manufactured home lot rent; instead cities and towns may adopt local mobile home park rent control (for example Chicopee and North Adams have mobile home rent control boards), and in those communities the local board reviews and can limit increases. Statewide rent control enabling bills filed in the 2025–2026 session (S.1447 / H.2328) did not pass, so outside a local rent control community your increase is limited only by the requirement that it be reasonable and properly noticed.
Eviction notice periods 30 days written notice by certified or registered mail for all § 32J grounds, and the notice must state the specific reasons, dates, places, witnesses and circumstances. Within that period you have 15 days from the date the notice was mailed, or 20 days from the day you actually received it, to pay the overdue rent or cure the violation, and if you do so the termination is void. For a lawful change of use or discontinuance the notice is measured in years, not days — see park_closure. If you receive a default or termination notice other than for nonpayment within 6 months after you asserted your rights, 940 CMR 10.08 gives you a rebuttable presumption that the notice is illegal retaliation.

Why Park Living Has Its Own Rulebook in Massachusetts

Massachusetts treats a manufactured housing community resident as someone who owns the home but rents only the site, so the ordinary apartment rules in M.G.L. c. 186 are supplemented by c. 140, §§ 32A–32S and 940 CMR 10.00.

Because your home is your own property and is expensive or impossible to move, the Act gives you protections an apartment renter does not have: eviction only for the limited grounds in § 32J, longer default-and-cure notice, a right of first refusal if the community is sold (§ 32R), a multi-year notice period plus relocation compensation if the community closes (§ 32L),

and a ban on the operator taking a fee or commission when you sell your home in place.

The operator may not block a sale of your home on site or charge an entry or exit fee, and unfair community rules are illegal unless filed with the Attorney General and reasonable.

Owning the home while renting the ground under it creates a kind of leverage no apartment landlord has: moving a manufactured home typically costs thousands of dollars, and many older homes cannot be moved at all without falling apart.

Lawmakers know that “just move” is not a real option for park residents, which is exactly why Massachusetts mobile home park laws give lot renters protections apartment tenants never get, limited eviction grounds, longer notice periods, and rules about what happens when the park itself changes hands.

Lot Rent Increases: Your Rights Before You Pay More

Required notice: 30 days. Under M.G.L. c. 140, § 32L the community must give each resident written notice of a rent increase at least 30 days before it takes effect, and under 940 CMR 10.03 the increase itself must be permitted by a rule that was disclosed and is not unfair or unreasonable.

If you live in a city or town with a mobile home rent control board, the board’s own notice and petition procedure also applies and may require more.

Is there a cap? NO CAP statewide. Massachusetts has no statewide percentage cap on manufactured home lot rent; instead cities and towns may adopt local mobile home park rent control (for example Chicopee and North Adams have mobile home rent control boards), and in those communities the local board reviews and can limit increases.

Statewide rent control enabling bills filed in the 2025–2026 session (S.1447 / H.2328) did not pass, so outside a local rent control community your increase is limited only by the requirement that it be reasonable and properly noticed.

Whatever the number on the notice, read it against the rules above before paying. An increase served with short notice, or one that violates a cap where Massachusetts has one, is challengeable, and park residents who organize respond far more effectively than neighbors acting alone. Many states saw lot-rent fights turn into new legislation in the last two years for exactly this reason.

The Park Cannot Evict You for Just Any Reason

Under M.G.L. c. 140, § 32J a community may terminate a resident’s tenancy only for (1) nonpayment of rent, (2) violation of any law or ordinance that protects the health, welfare or safety of other residents, or (3) substantial violation of the community’s rules and regulations.

A rule violation is not “substantial” unless it endangers the health or safety of other residents, unreasonably interferes with other residents’ use and quiet enjoyment, or causes or risks substantial damage to property.

Separately, § 32L allows removal only through a lawful change of use or discontinuance of the community with the full multi-year notice and compensation described below.

940 CMR 10.08 bars eviction for any other reason, including the age of your home, the fact a pre-June 15, 1976 home does not meet federal HUD standards, or exterior condition unless you were told in writing what was wrong and given a reasonable chance to fix it.

This list matters enormously: it means a park in Massachusetts cannot simply non-renew you to free up the lot the way an apartment landlord might. If an eviction notice arrives, check it against the legal grounds first, park evictions fail in court most often because the stated reason is not on the list, or the notice skipped a required warning step.

If the Park Sells or Closes

When the park is sold: Under M.G.L. c. 140, § 32R the owner must send written notice by certified mail to every resident within 14 days after the community is listed, advertised or otherwise publicly offered for sale, and that notice must reach residents at least 45 days before any sale closes.

If the sale would result in a change of use or discontinuance, the owner must also notify each resident by certified mail of any bona fide offer the owner intends to accept.

A homeowners’ association backed by at least 51 percent of the residents then has a right of first refusal: 45 days from the bona fide offer notice to submit a purchase and sale agreement on substantially equivalent price and terms, 90 additional days after signing to obtain a binding financing commitment, and a further 90 days to close — up to about 225 days total, and the periods can be extended by agreement.

Missing any one of those deadlines ends the right, which is what happened to the residents in Crown Communities, LLC v. Austin, so many resident groups line up financing help early. The owner may not unreasonably refuse or unreasonably delay a deal with residents who match the offer; the right does not apply to eminent domain, a third-party foreclosure sale, or a transfer by gift, devise or operation of law.

When the park closes: 24 months minimum, extended to 48 months if the owner failed to give the sale notice required by § 32R. M.G.L. c.

140, § 32L requires the licensee to give every resident written notice of the effective date of a proposed change of use or discontinuance at least that far in advance, and during the notice period the operator must survey every manufactured housing community within a 100 mile radius at least once each year to find available sites and must post all of that information prominently in the community.

The owner must also compensate you — either your actual relocation costs, or, where the home cannot reasonably be moved, the appraised value of your home. Massachusetts sets no fixed dollar figure; payment must be made no later than your departure from the community, with an adjustment to actual total relocation cost once the move is complete.

Local zoning and licensing approval is also required, so you may be able to raise objections at the municipal level as well.

Fees the Park Can and Cannot Charge in Massachusetts

940 CMR 10.03 bars the operator from charging any entrance fee or exit fee for moving into or out of the community, from charging a guest fee except in the narrow circumstance allowed by 940 CMR 10.03(2)(h), and from requiring or keeping a security deposit except in full compliance with M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B.

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No fee may be charged for a service unless the fee is authorized by §§ 32A–32S or 940 CMR 10.00 and is either written into your occupancy agreement or is for a service you actually requested and received. M.G.L. c.

140, § 32L bars any fee, charge or commission for the sale of your home in the community, except that you may voluntarily contract with the operator to act as your sales agent for no more than 10 percent of the sale price.

You cannot be charged for hooking up or using basic utilities beyond actual metered use charges at your own site, and charges for centrally supplied fuel or gas may not exceed the average prevailing local price.

Under 940 CMR 10.03 the operator also may not pass along the cost of upgrading or repairing sewer, water, gas or electrical systems to meet legal minimum standards unless that standard first took effect after you moved in.

The park’s side of the bargain: Under 940 CMR 10.05 the operator must maintain and keep in good repair all community roadways that are part of the common areas, including keeping them reasonably free of debris and potholes and providing necessary snow plowing.

The operator must supply and pay for potable water in sufficient quantity and pressure for ordinary resident needs from a public system or another source the board of health has approved as safe, and must provide a sanitary sewage disposal system connected to the public sewer, or install and maintain an adequate system where connection is not practicable because of distance or ground conditions.

Common areas the operator must keep up include community roads, common parking, common storage, common walkways, social, recreational and operational facilities, and all utilities other than those located on your individual site. The local board of health also has authority to inspect and enforce sanitary conditions at manufactured housing communities, so you may be able to call both the board of health and the Attorney General’s office.

The Trapped-Equity Problem and How to Protect Yourself

The economics of a mobile home park in Massachusetts are unlike any apartment: you own the home, but moving it typically costs thousands of dollars, often more than an older home is worth, and many parks will not accept a home past a certain age. That is why lot-rent disputes feel so different here: walking away is rarely a real option, and park owners know it.

The law is what balances that power gap, which makes knowing the exact notice rules, fee limits, and eviction grounds in Massachusetts worth more to a park resident than to almost any other kind of tenant.

Protect yourself the way the long-time residents do: keep every rent notice and rule change in writing, photograph the condition of your lot and the park’s common areas a couple of times a year, and read the community rules before signing anything, in most states the written rules you were given are what a court will hold both sides to.

Selling Your Home Without Losing Its Value

When it is time to leave, most residents sell the home in place rather than move it, and this is where park rules matter most.

Many states limit a park’s power to block an in-place sale: the park can usually screen the buyer the way it screens any new resident, but it generally cannot force you to remove a home just because you are selling, and it cannot demand a cut of your sale price unless it actually acted as your sales agent.

Get the park’s buyer-approval requirements in writing early, keep the lot rent current through the sale, and never sign a rule change mid-sale without reading it, a home that can stay on its lot is worth far more than one that has to be moved.

The Strongest Protection Is the Lot Next Door

Everything about park life is shared, the roads, the water lines, the rent schedule, the fate of the land itself. That is why the single most effective move a park resident in Massachusetts can make is joining or forming a residents association. A park owner can ignore one complaint about a rent increase; ignoring a letter signed by sixty households is a different decision.

Associations are also how residents use park-sale rights in the states that grant them, organized communities have bought their own parks across the country, usually with help from nonprofit lenders who specialize in exactly this.

Keep your own records the same way any tenant should: the lease for your lot, every rent notice, every rule change, photos of anything the park fails to maintain. Massachusetts mobile home park laws reward the resident who can show a judge dates and documents, and most disputes never reach a judge once the park realizes you have them.

Recent changes in Massachusetts: Attorney General Andrea Campbell reissued the Guide to Manufactured Housing Community Law in September 2024, its first update since 2017, clarifying among other things that operators generally must charge incoming residents the same rent as comparable existing residents.

In 2026 the Supreme Judicial Court decided Crown Communities, LLC v. Austin, holding that a residents’ association showed adequate 51 percent support but lost its right of first refusal by missing the 90-day binding financing deadline, so residents facing a sale should secure financing commitments immediately.

Statewide rent control enabling bills (S.1447 and H.2328) failed in the 2025–2026 session and a separate statewide rent cap initiative petition was pushed toward the November 2026 ballot, so mobile home lot rent limits in Massachusetts still depend entirely on whether your city or town has a local rent control board — check with your municipality and with your court before relying on any cap.

Massachusetts Mobile Home Park Laws: Quick Answers

Can the park raise lot rent whenever it wants? The Massachusetts mobile home park laws above set the notice rules, and any cap, that apply before an increase is valid.

Can the park make me remove my home? Only for the legal grounds listed in the Massachusetts mobile home park laws, and only through the court process, never by padlock or tow truck.

Do apartment tenant rights apply to me? Partly. The Massachusetts mobile home park laws are their own chapter, and this page plus the state guides linked below cover both layers.

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Official Massachusetts Sources & Resources

Making Massachusetts Mobile Home Park Laws Work for You

The Massachusetts mobile home park laws only protect residents who use them, and parks count on most residents never reading the act. Read your lot lease against this page, calendar every notice deadline the moment a letter arrives, and talk to your neighbors, nearly every protection in the Massachusetts mobile home park laws gets stronger when residents act together.

If the park ignores the rules, the state agency and local legal aid both handle park disputes, and a written complaint citing the act gets a very different response than a phone call. Under the Massachusetts mobile home park laws, the resident with documents and neighbors is never as trapped as the park hopes.

This guide to massachusetts mobile home park laws was last verified against official sources in August 2026. Lot-rent caps and park-sale laws are moving fast in many states, re-check before acting on a deadline.

More Massachusetts Tenant Rights Guides

Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal advice. Landlord-tenant laws change and vary by city and county within a state. Verify current rules with your state, your local court, or a free legal-aid office before acting. If you are facing eviction, contact a local tenant attorney or legal-aid organization right away.

Renting? Protect your belongings — compare renters insurance at Home Insure Guide. Divorce involving a lease? See Divorce Help Guide. Unsafe housing / toxic mold injury? Some cases qualify — see Mass Tort Info.